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The first option is to keep this very informal and just gather in one of the lobby bars.

The second option is to have a banquet room within the hotel to ourselves from 6pm to midnight with hor'derves and a private cash bar. The approximate cost for this option would be $20 - $30 per person.

The third option is similar to the second option. The only difference is we would have dinner as a group in our banquet room. We would have the cash bar. This option would cost $40 - $50 per person.

The above costs are only approximate and may be +/- a few dollars depending on the menu. The costs would include tax and gratuity. I've incorporated the cost of the banquet room into the price. Once we decide upon an option I can begin negotiations regarding room rental and menu cost.

Allow me to add if we decide to go with a private banquet room the cost of drinks at our cash bar would be the same price as they are in the lobby bar.

I also just read through our contract and we were quoted a complimentary banquet room with the consumption of food. The banquet manager must have not seen that. The prices I quoted above should remain on the lower side of the spectrum unless we decide to go with a more expensive menu option than the first two samples above.

I like the 3rd option and I like the 1st and 3rd menus. A sitdown dinner with the group at the hotel is an excellent idea. I especially like the idea because we don't have to negotiate the streets or night traffic and all that comes with it. We can't forget Mini with just cocktail hour/socializing in a bar as we would exclude the true Queen in attendance (sorry David aka philly267 ) and a sit down meal accommodates everyone.

So, I vote for banquet room with group meal (#1 menu is fine). I will avoid any hot peppers, however.

Having the M & G in the hotel sounds like a good idea, especially considering the difficulty of trying to locate a place off property.

I agree with MJ that being in a banquet room to ourselves vs the lobby bar is the way to go.

As far as the option of either doing a sit down dinner or Hors d'oeuvres, either one is fine with me. The 2nd dinner option (the one with the stuffed chicken) would be my choice since I don't eat fish/seafood of any kind. With the adjusted cost (since the contract gives us the room without charge), and the fact that the drinks will be the same as in the lobby bar { }, I don't think we could find a better deal.

Mini and I are open for whatever. Either of the 1st two menus sound good and as long as the tea is made with potable water, we'll be fine As far as entertainment, just give Mini a microphone..lol..you'll have a combo of singing, dancing, and comedy.

Seriously, though, whatever everyone is up for, we're just happy to be there.

You didn't mention a date. Since it appears that everyone will arrive Wed except Nick and me (we're there by Thursday noon) why don't we have this reception Thursday night?

robert

EDITED TO ADD .... Like I said, thee menus confuse me. After reading what Philly said, let me say, if it's cheaper to just have hor'derves and a private cash bar, that's fine. If course I'm can't speak for everyone, but I'm really not a big eater and cheese and crackers do the trick for me. Last year in SF we had wonderful hor'derves that was more like a dinner.

Santi and I are fine with whatever the decided option is. I do like the idea of a dinner. I can sample spicy but I can't make a meal of it. Just give me a stack of tortillas and some butter and some booze and I'll be fine...kidding! I like the second dinner menu too, I'll just give the poblano stuffing to Santi.

aren't we on a budget? How many folks received grants this year? How much spending money are we actually talking about?

David, I will try a repy and hope I understand your post as you intended........because I'm not sure what you are asking in referencing grants money. This dinner is seperate from any grants committee funds. It's an out-of-pocket expense as is all the things we do in Mexico City. In regards to how much spending money I can tell you that there are the usual expenses incurred with traveling: museums fees, and transport to and fro, eating twice a day (or more), nightlife (as there are door cover fees for men at most nightclubs) which are all out of pocket expenses. Of course, since we are not using an official tour bus to cart us to the pyramids--it'll be a savings of about $45 dollars/per individual on that alone....offsetting the cost of the Meet and Greet dinner.

No problem -- just that there are tighter folks than *I* and am wary of the haves and the haves nots. I'm sure we all understand, and costs for these extracurricular expenses are quickly adding up. There are those of us who don't know of such penny pinching.

I might be a good idea of to make a list of what will coast what in this regard. Many here have been quite generous but even that has it limits.

The whole idea of the Meet and Greet is to meet, mingle and get to know everyone, I think if we have 20+ people sitting around a table it's harder to converse with everyone...I'm sure we will have tables for us "Older" folk to sit down at, personally I like how we did it in SF....just my 2 cents worth, of course I will go with the majority if Dinner is the way everyone wants to do it.

Chili peppers are definitely off the menu for me..also I like spice but it doesn't like me~sigh~

The whole idea of the Meet and Greet is to meet, mingle and get to know everyone, I think if we have 20+ people sitting around a table it's harder to converse with everyone...I'm sure we will have tables for us "Older" folk to sit down at, personally I like how we did it in SF....just my 2 cents worth, of course I will go with the majority if Dinner is the way everyone wants to do it.

Chili peppers are definitely off the menu for me..also I like spice but it doesn't like me~sigh~

If no one objects I'd like to keep the Meet and Greet on Friday evening. I will be arriving on Thursday and will have a bit of work to do. All talks with the banquet manager have been with a Friday night event in mind. I will need time that Thursday after I arrive to meet with the banquet manager to discuss the room setup and other needs.

Oh, Mike, thanks for mentioning the temps. That was going to me my next question. Yes, I know that I could look it up myself (maybe), but then what would I have to talk about here? So 50's at night, little miss will need a sweater and I may need to rethink what she was going to wear to the memorial service. Aren't the daytime highs in the 70's at that time?

And, yes, that does help. I had an idea about what we were going to wear, but just wanted to make sure that it was appropriate.

Are we planning on going to the beach? I'm not even sure how far away the beach would be. Just thinking about wether Little Miss would need her bathing suit. Don't worry, unlike RAB, I keep my privates under wraps

Is everyone interested in participating in this years meet and greet. I need to confirm the room and start working on the menu. I need a minimum of 20 people for dinner in order to receive the room complimentary. However, only 1/2 (aprox 10)of the confirmed attendees have shown interest.

Is everyone interested in participating in this years meet and greet. I need to confirm the room and start working on the menu. I need a minimum of 20 people for dinner in order to receive the room complimentary. However, only 1/2 (aprox 10)of the confirmed attendees have shown interest.